Where does “van der Merwe” come from?

van der Merwe (Dutch) comes from Dutch van, from Middle Dutch van, from Old Dutch fān, from Old Saxon fāhan, from Proto-Germanic fanhaną, from Proto-Indo-European peh₂ḱ- — to join, to attach; agreement, settlement.

Ancestry of “van der Merwe”, step by step

van der Merwe traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Dutch van

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchvanof; by, of; from
2Middle Dutchvanof; from; out of
3Old Dutchfānoff, from
4Old Saxonfāhanto seize
5Proto-Germanicfanhanąto take, to seize; to capture, to catch
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₂ḱ-to join, to attach; agreement, settlement

via Dutch Merwe

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1DutchMerwe—

Words derived from “van der Merwe”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European peh₂ḱ- →